Facebook’s simplified data policy can finally be understood

Facebook has made the transition from legal jargon to simple, easy English regular people can understand in their data policy. Your days of having to go to law school to understand what Facebook expects of you, or can do with your data are over.

As everything that deals with human interactions and expectations, Facebook’s data policy used to be an unreadable mess. After becoming aware that most users never even bothered to read it, and those who did had a hard time grasping anything from it, the Facebook team worked on a new data policy, which according to the Wall Street Journal is 70 percent shorter than it used to be. Furthermore, the layout was improved and separated into chapters for ease of access which is a major hit. At the same time, their terms of service are down 79 per cent too, from 11,195 words in 2012.

This move comes in the eve of their experimental buy button launch, in an attempt to be both simple and transparent with the users. Put simply? Facebook wants your location information easily accessible to display relevant offers. Or, in their words:

Discover what’s going on around you: We’re updating our policies to explain how we get location information depending on the features you decide to use. Millions of people check into their favorite places and use optional features like Nearby Friends. We’re working on ways to show you the most relevant information based on where you are and what your friends are up to. For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.

Make purchases more convenient: In some regions, we’re testing a Buy button that helps people discover and purchase products without leaving Facebook. We’re also working on new ways to make transactions even more convenient and secure.

These new policies aren’t into full effect yet, and Facebook has invited their users to provide feedback until November 20th, when they expect to launch them.